EUROTUNNEL announced on October 18 that it has received an irrevocable offer from Swedish private equity group EQT Infrastructure II for the acquisition of Britain’s third-largest rail freight operator GB Railfreight (GBRf).

GB Railfreight, Britain, has agreed to lease 41 new Greenbrier wagons from Nacco Leasing after securing a five-year extension to a contact to transport sand between eastern and northeast England.

Coal was once the cornerstone of the British rail freight business, but changes in energy policy have triggered a steep and rapid decline in volumes. Keith Barrow looks at the prospects for the industry as it grapples with a seismic shift in the foundations of the market and uncertainty over Britain’s departure from the European Union.

NEARLY 18 years after the first EMD JTW42CWR (class 66) diesel locomotives arrived in Europe, the final batch of seven units for GB Railfreight (GBRf) was unloaded at the Welsh port of Newport on February 13.